Flower of Life by Taleen Kali

By Phil Hawkins

Prior to maybe two weeks ago I had never heard of Taleen Kali. However, based on the bio/description that was attached to an email promoting her/their latest single “Crusher” my interest was piqued. Rather than check out the single right away I chose to hold off until the full album, Flower of Life, dropped so I could immerse myself completely. Not only were my expectations met, they were greatly exceeded.

Flower of Life is a remarkably orchestrated ethereal experience. Stylistically pulling from a vast array of shoegaze, dreampop, alt rock with a touch of post punk and grunge there is something for everyone. While the stylistic influences may be vast Taleen Kali carves out her/their own space with an album that defies genre specific boundaries.

The album opens with the titular track and it is a raucous marriage of shoegaze and post punk that makes a stellar impact as an album opener. The synth/keys mixed in add an ambient space that is laced throughout the track. Latest single, “Crusher,” follows and is described by Kali as, “our ultimate shoegaze love song. This song is about all those impossible feelings, taking inspiration from some of the greats: Chapterhouse, Lush, Ride and Curve.” “Crusher” also features a guitar solo from Jeff Schroeder of The Smashing Pumpkins. “Only Lovers Left Alive” continues the upbeat tempo seen on the prior tracks and continues to showcase Kali’s vocal prowess and versatility amidst the soaring guitars and spacey keys/synth.

“Trash Talk” kicks off with a fuzzy guitar riff intermixed with an acoustic flair before busting into yet another raucous filled up tempo track that carries a steady almost simplistic drum backbeat. “Tomorrow Girl” takes a more mellow approach and has a more melodic vocal styling than it’s predecessors on the album. It is a solid track for the “middle” of the album and gives a look at the contrast that Kali is capable of musically as well. “Fine Line” opens with a defining bass riff that is prominent throughout the track and is a nice accent as the bass doesn’t feel as prominent on the album thus far. It’s there, but on this track it is in the forefront rather than rounding out the backdrop. The track also carries some of the most layered instrumentation as each other instrument seems to have it’s own moment to shine.

The album begins it’s culmination with “Cazimi” which is carried by Kali’s airy vocals. It is a solid track with a tight mix that could easily get over looked so late in the album, but is worth sticking around for. “Summer of Sound” is the slowest (and shortest) track and almost feels more like an interlude than a fully fleshed track and is the only track that might be even close to be considered “skippable.” “Summer of Sound” bleeds in to the following track “Vague Flesh” (which is the longest track) and also the most ethereal. It has an ambience to it that is unmatched on the rest of the album and is a true highlight on the album. It is a big track that, unfortunately, gets lost so late in the album. Given it’s overall composition it might have fit better as the album closer. However, that honor goes to “Spirit Plane” which is another track on the more mellow side. As a closing track it fits, but almost feels more like an outro to “Vague Flesh.”

Overall, Flower of Life is a intricately crafted album. Where it could be a roller coaster it focuses on the up tempo tracks in the first half and then descends in to the more dreamy/gazey slower tracks on the back half. It plays this to an advantage as it allows the listener to get swept up and then carried adrift amidst the latter half.

Flower of Life is available now on all major digital and streaming platforms or you can purchase physical copies via Bandcamp.